A Whole New World

Welcome to my blog about my wife, McKenzie, and I's study abroad experience in Ghana, Africa. The study abroad is through the accounting program at BYU, which McKenzie and I are both enrolled in right now. There are 15 students and 2 professors on the trip, along with one of the professor's sons.

This is the airplane view of

Accra, Ghana at night 
just before we landed

We arrived in the evening on May 2nd. In the morning of May 3rd we traveled to an island an hour or so outside of Accra. To get to the island, we rode on what was basically just a huge canoe with a boat motor attached to it that propelled us across the Volta river. On the way there we stopped at a location where the Volta river empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean was so warm! I could have swam in it all day.

Where the Volta River empties
 into the Atlantic Ocean

When we arrived at the island, George (the Ghanaian man who was our guide) showed us the playground at the school where there is a merry-go-round that generates a little bit of power for people on the island whenever it spins. The idea is for the school children to play on it and thereby generate electricity for people on the island. It was engineered by students and faculty at BYU and installed by a nonprofit organization called Empower Playgrounds. We stayed the night on the island in the home of a local family. It was a very hot and sweaty experience. Our bed was a foam pad with a mosquito net over it. The cement walls of the houses trap a lot of heat in, and are built with little if any ventilation. We slept or simply lied in our own sweat for most of the night. The roosters around the house crowed throughout the night and made it impossible to rest past 6. At about that time, we got up and helped the family prepare oysters caught from the river to be sold at a market. This process is done by boiling the oysters until their shells open, then separating out the shells, and finally folding the oysters out to be put on a stick. We left the island later that morning around 8 or so. It was a humbling experience to stay there overnight and live in their shoes for a day.

We got to try fresh coconut while
on the island. It was delicious!

The merry-go-round on the island

Several areas around the

houses on the island have

these seashells smashed 
into the ground to make a

sort of cobblestone path

This is the home where we stayed
the night on the island

Helping prepare oysters

Who's cuter, the girl or the baby goat? (The girl!)

The evening of Thursday, May 4th, George and his LDS Church ward hosted a fireside which we attended and participated in. It was an uplifting experience. Many testimonies were given along with some inspiring musical performances. That night we checked in to the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel where we are staying for the next week or so.

The next day on Friday we had the opportunity to meet with Elder Terence M. Vinson, a General Authority Seventy who is the Area President of the Africa West Area of the Church. He shared some statistics and other data about the growth of the Church in the Africa West Area which is currently the highest in the world. This area of the world is organizing 1 new stake per month on average. He also shared with us some wonderful insights and stories about the West African Latter-day Saints, and took the time to answer questions we had. It was a wonderful experience, one of my favorite of the trip so far. After this visit, we attended an endowment session at the Ghana Accra Temple. This was also a wonderful experience and the temple is beautiful, especially at night. It is a beacon of light.

Yesterday, we took a tour of Accra. This included visits to a museum, memorial park, and art market. The vendors at the art market were extremely aggressive. We had an exciting time bargaining with them. In the evening, Professor Hobson gave a presentation to the Ghana Accra BYU Management Society chapter. At least 20-30 young adult Ghanaians attended (most or all LDS). They were very bright individuals. I was impressed with their questions and perspectives. They are the kind of people who will likely be the future leaders of the Church in Ghana and throughout West Africa.

The Ghana Accra Temple

McKenzie with a 6 year old girl named Baba

 Tomorrow we will begin work on our projects! We  are excited to visit the sites of the organizations we  will be working with and begin building  relationships with the people in them. I look forward  to posting about what happens. It's Ghana be  good!